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Chinese and Russian retailers have, for the first time, figured in the list of the world’s 250 largest retailers, says 2008 Global Powers of Retail, a report from Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, in conjunction with STORES magazine.

The report said six retailers from the two countries have entered the Top 250 rankings, including Chinese retailer Bailian Group(1), which entered the list at number 101. The highest ranked Russian retailer was X5 Retail Group NV (X5) at number 191.

Dr Ira Kalish, Deloitte Research, said: “This is an exciting time for global retailing. There is evidence of consolidation and modernisation in emerging markets, and the strategies behind the emergence of these new stores reflect a growing maturity among emerging market businesses.”

The total retail sales for the Top 250 rose to $3.25 trillion in fiscal 2006, up eight percent from fiscal 2005 with only 36 retailers seeing declining sales in 2006, compared to 49 in 2005.

The report said the average net profit for the group (based on available figures from 187 companies) was 3.6 per cent, a small increase from 3.5 per cent last year. Just seven of the 187 companies reported a net loss in 2006, compared with 15 of 188 companies in 2005.

World’s largest retailer Wal-Mart continued to top the list, and increased its lead over second placed Carrefour Group (Carrefour). The big mover was Tesco PLC (Tesco), which overtook German retail giant Metro AG to take fourth place, the first movement among the Top five since 2003. In doing so, Tesco also became the second largest retailer in Europe and is gaining ground on Carrefour.

Kalish added: “The Top 10 retailers’ share of Top 250 combined sales continues to inch up. With combined sales of $978.5 billion in fiscal 2006, the world’s 10 largest retailers accounted for 30.1 per cent of Top 250 sales compared with 29.4 per cent in 2005.”